Bad week for Brentwood man: Gun rally arrest, then fire at home

Last Tuesday, Daniel E. Musso Sr. was subdued with a stun gun while being arrested by Concord police at an anti-gun violence rally. Saturday, a chimney fire caused $150,000 in damage to his Brentwood home.

Deputy Chief Gary Raymond of the Brentwood Fire Department said Sunday that Musso was out fishing with his grandsons when heat from a chimney ignited dry wood in the 149 Crawley Falls Road home's frame. Musso uses a combination wood/oil burner to heat water, Raymond said.

"It appears to have started as a chimney fire before extending into framed in space, then up into the roof," Raymond said.

Brentwood investigators called in the state fire marshal and determined the cause was accidental.

Musso owns Musso's Mill Yard at the same address on Crawley Falls Road. A man answering calls at a number listed to Musso said Musso was the owner, but not available. Musso, 52, was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and assault after a confrontation and scuffle with police outside the state Capitol Tuesday. Musso was one of several gun advocates who attended the rally.

The event was organized by the Mayors Against Illegal Guns campaign, which apologized after the New Hampshire Union Leader reported that the group's list of "victims" of gun violence read aloud Tuesday included Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died after a shootout with police April 19.

Musso confronted one speaker, which led to the incident with police.

Once the verbal argument turned physical and officers tried to subdue Musso after he was told he was under arrest, video shows him holding his hands and arms firmly in front of his body while shouting he hadn't done anything wrong, had a heart condition and his two sons were serving in Afghanistan.

Musso spoke to the Union Leader during a send-off event for the New Hampshire Army National Guard 237th Military Police Company in 2007. His sons, Daniel Jr. and David were being deployed for a year to Iraq on a mission of combat support operations.

"They're a team," Daniel Musso Sr. said at the send-off.

The Musso brothers were deployed again in February.

Musso has had a long-running dispute with the Brentwood Volunteer Fireman's Association, eventually losing an appeal to the New Hampshire Supreme Court in 2009 over the ownership of a plot of land across the street from his home and business.

Fire Chief Gary Raymond said the dispute was resolved some time ago and the city sold the land last year. He also said Musso was "very amicable" to firefighters who put out the blaze at his home Saturday.